The Ghosts of those Who Have Been
by LadyMorganaPendragon
Summary: Grant Ward is going mad, it seems. After realising how attached he is to Skye, he tries to kill her. Skye is badly wounded and the team are doing all they can, but what of Ward? As the ghosts of his past torment him, will he see what he has done? Implied FitzSimmons, slight SkyeWard. My summary's rubbish, please read and review!
1. Prologue

**So recently I got into SHIELD, and I thought I'd have a shot at a fanfic on it. I'm terrible at updating, for the record, so they'll probably be fairly irregular, but this fic might only be five or six chapters long anyway.**

** Please stick with me, and do leave a small review at the bottom of the page!**

She felt the cool metal barrel of the gun against the side of her temple, and Skye froze. In fact, if it was any colder, she probably would have. Her breath quickened, visible in short puffs of steam that were quickly lost in the cold air. His arm snaked around her stomach, and with a sharp movement he jerked her backwards. She didn't need to look to know who her captor was. She opened her mouth, but he dug the gun in tighter, clearly telling her not to.

"Stop," he said, and Coulson swung the large torch around until its beam shone directly into Ward's eyes. Shock registered on his face and he lowered the torch until he could see the woman he held tightly, a gun to her head. "Freeze or I kill her."

May growled, and moved forwards, but Coulson pulled her back. "Ward," he said, "Calm down. Take a breath. What are you doing?" Ward pulled her closer. Skye let out a grunt as he slowly pushed the air from her lungs.

"What do you want?" she asked quietly. She tried to breath slowly, but panic was rising inside her.

"I want some information, Skye, information that you can give me. Or you could... die."

Skye whirled around, taking him by surprise. Simmons marvelled at the cold, blank expression on her face. This man had tried to kill her before, and Fitz had come out of it with brain damage. He was better now; he could speak properly, but they were both scarred under the surface. And Simmons feared that Skye would not be so lucky. "You know, I don't think you can do it. I think you've grown attached to us."

Fitz was trembling._ Don't say that,_ he thought, _he will._ It was the first time he had come even near to the man who had tried to kill him. A straightforward bullet would do a lot more damage than what he had suffered. A straightforward bullet would kill her.

"What information?" Coulson started forwards, but Ward shook his head.

"She knows."

Skye paled. "No."

Garret's face loomed out of the darkness. Kill her, it told him, you're growing fond. It's a weakness.

Ward knew that Garret was dead. But he knew also that he was right. He shouldn't grow attached. Skye was a weakness, and one to be dealt with. He drew in a shuddering breath. He looked right into her eyes, daring him to do it. He couldn't.

Go on, you coward.

"I'm not a coward!" he screamed. The agents exchanged glances. Nobody had said anything.

He couldn't destroy her eyes. He didn't know why. He lowered the gun and there was an audible sigh of relief from Coulson. He aimed for her rib cage as he pushed her away, but at the last possible moment he jerked his hand downwards, his hand pulled the trigger and the bullet entered her lower back.

**What** **did you think? A bit violent, I know, but please leave a comment below!**


	2. Falling

**The next chapter! Ah, the joy of being able to publish more than one chapter at once! Enjoy it while you can!**

Skye hardly felt the bullet enter her back, but she did when it exited the other side. Pain, excruciating pain, filling her entire stomach and spreading into her chest and legs. Heaviness washed over her, and she fell forwards. She heard the gun drop to the hard, frosty floor beside her and vaguely wondered if she would die. Coulson shouted something indecipherable and Simmons screamed. Ward picked up a different gun.

"Still call it the night-night gun?" he asked Fitz casually, but casual was the last thing he felt. Fire was burning through him, fire that was guilt, knawing away, and fire that was... fear. Fear that he hadn't felt in a long time. Garret put a hand on his shoulder. Ward pretended to examine the gun.

Go on, do it. Finish her off.

Ward held the night-night gun at arm's length and fired it in Simmons' direction. Then, slowly, slowly, he forced his leg to move forward. Then his other one. And in the same, stiff way, he left.

* * *

><p>"Jemma!" Fitz shouted. It was pitch black - Coulson had dropped the torch when Skye fell - and he nearly tripped over her sleeping form. Coulson made his way to Skye. May had the good sense to turn the torch back on. She started to go after Ward, but the man before her told her not to.<p>

"We need to get her to the bus. Fitz, get over here."

"Jemma," he repeated. Her head was in his lap.

"It was a night-night gun," May snapped, "He took her out so we wouldn't know what to do. Now get over here."

"I- I don't know what to do! Basic first aid never covered this... Simmons is the biochem one, not me!" Fitz cried.

"Fitz," said Coulson, "Get over here. You practically live with Jemma. All that time you spent with her... you must remember something that can help us."

"Ok," he said, "Skye, can you hear me?"

Skye nodded weakly. "Ok. Ok. You need to try and stay awake, do you understand?" She nodded again. Fitz was shaking all over. "We need to put on pressure. Stop the bleeding."

He ripped off the bottom of his shirt, wadded it into a bandage and pressed it onto the wound. Firmly, but not ridiculously hard. She screamed.

"Ok, Skye, I know it hurts. Try to stay conscious," Coulson whispered, grabbing her hand.

Fitz was panicking. He'd never received proper medical training. Simmons dealt with that. But Simmons wouldn't wake up for hours. Hours. "We need to get her back to the bus. It's cold out here. We'll all freeze. Except perhaps... Simmons. The toxin in the gun should help her store body heat. It's actually kind of-"

"Fitz," said May.

"Right. Sorry. Ok. Um, let's go."

"How do I lift her?"

"Oh. Um... oh. I guess, just... avoid the wound?" Coulson may have laughed, had the situation not been so dire.

May went over to the other woman and slung her unceremoniously over her shoulder. "Let's go."

"Be gentle," Fitz pleaded.

"Get the torch," May ordered, and followed her CO into the night.

** When we get back to the bus, the chapters are quite likely to change lengths. I don't whether they'll get longer or shorter, but it would be great if you could just stick with the story. I don't really know what I'll do, but if you have any ideas or questions, feel free to let me know in the little box below (it rhymed and everything)!**


	3. Waking

**Back again! I love publishing more than one chapter at once!**

She woke up slowly, opening her eyes and trying to make sense of this blurred world through her splitting headache she groaned. Someone started shaking her. Simmons was brought to her senses by a sharp, but possibly not sharp as it could be (given the circumstances), slap to the cheek.

"Agent May," she murmured, "Was that entirely necessary?"

"Yes," snapped the woman above her, "Skye's dying."

Simmons clapped a hand to her mouth. "Skye! Where is she?"

She jumped up, ignoring the dizziness that she'd recieved as the blood rushed to her head. May pointed to the nearby lab.

"Jemma!" Fitz came straight to her, but she brushed him aside, hurrying over to the patient on the table in the centre of the room. Skye didn't look good. Fitz had done his best, but he really had no idea.

"I want a list of everything you've done and given her. Tell May that we need to leave in five minutes and get her to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility ASAP."

Fitz hesitated. "Do you need anything?"

"Go!"

Skye was pale, colourless even. A drip was injected into her arm: a good sign that Fitz had at least some idea of first aid. One day she would put him on an advanced course. Simmons cut into Skye's top. She realised with a jolt that they should have been wearing bulletproof vests. All of them. Skye wouldn't be like this, she wouldn't have such a splitting headache, there wouldn't be such a panic.

The wound was a bad one. Skye lay on her stomach, so Simmons could see the entry wound. The bullet had hit her small intestines, and from the looks of it her larger ones as well. There was no way she could survive this, was there? Not with these resources. Fitz came back in.

"An hour, maybe two."

"The list?" she asked, and he walked out again.

* * *

><p><em>Garret. Standing there, in front of him. Not dead. Not dead! How was that possible? It wasn't. He was dead. Gone. Boom.<em>

_ "Well done. Didn't think you had it in you. We've got Coulson out the way. Target the HYDRA agents out there. Gather them together. Strike."_

_ "You're dead." Ward said hollowly. "Why aren't you dead?"_

_ "Nobody told me I was dead. Why do I have to be dead?" Garret laughed. "I'm glad you killed the girl. You were falling in love for a second there."_

_ Ward denied it hotly. "She is... Dead? Completely?"_

_ "Oh, yes. Dead as a doornail."_

_ The fire inside turned cold. Cold grief spreading round. Guilt, grief, fear. What would they do to him now?_

_He sat down on a handy chair that happened to be behind him. Skye was gone. He felt somehow empty, deprived of emotion. But somehow he also wanted to scream, hit something. Skye was dead and gone, and he had killed her._

_ Ward opened his eyes. She stood in front of him. There was a gaping hole in her chest. She gasped. "Help me," she whispered, "Please." He stood up and she fell into his arms. He cried against her bloody shoulder, until she disappeared completely and_

he fell into his own bed, drenched in cold sweat and shouting. Skye was dead. Garret was dead. He was safe.

Wasn't he?

**Bit of a cliffhanger there, sorry... I've got a bit of time on my hands at the moment so I might be able to update more frequently than I usually do. Maybe I'll even finish this before the end of the holidays!**

** Probably not though, give the circumstances. This is me we're talking about.**

** Until next time, guys! And don't forget to leave a review!**


	4. Floating

**I'm back! I think I forgot to mention that this is set in Season 2.**

Skye was floating. At least, it felt like that. Floating on a leash of pain, so that when she floated too far away, the pain would jolt her back down to the hard medical table on which she lay. Sometimes, she would try to open her eyes, force them open with all her strength. It didn't work, not really. Her eyelids might flutter briefly, but, as Simmons made sure everyone knew, this was "completely natural."

At other times, when people were holding her hands and urging her to wake up, she pretended to be asleep because she was too tired. On one occasion she had managed to twitch her fingers, alerting Coulson to her wakeful presence. Skye was torn between the pride of managing to and the anger at herself for making so much _noise._

Her right arm felt amazing. Just... amazing. She didn't really understand why. It was probably something to do with the medication the were giving her. At one point, though, she was thinking about this and moved her arm and it started to hurt like there was something stuck in her arm and her stomach started to hurt so much that she ignored everything and curled up in a ball around it. It was then that Skye realised that the pain went straight into her back as well.

Skye screwed up her eyes in pain and groaned, and lots of alarms went off. _That's funny,_ she thought, _I haven't done anything wrong. _She heard running footsteps and people started shouting. She wondered if they were being robbed. Somebody started pulling her, sorting her into an unfamiliar position on her back that made her cough.

"She's coughing up blood!" Simmons shouted over the noise, and began to pump at Skye's chest. _Why is she doing that? My heart hasn't stopped._ Skye decided that her friend was stronger than she looked. Whatever it was she was doing really _hurt. _It seemed to work, at least. The noise slowed down and Skye drifted off again.

* * *

><p>Everyone ignored the tears. They came from Coulson's eyes, and Fitz's eyes, even leaked, illegally, out of Simmons'. As soon as the threat was over May had gone back to the cockpit.<p>

Skye thought that she had been in a coma for days, but in fact she had been on the bus for under three hours. May called down to say that they would reach the medical facility in half an hour. Simmons didn't know what to do. What could she do? Skye was a fighter, but would she hold out for that long? She needed life support. Fitz had dug up an oxygen mask from a cupboard somewhere that they had given her, ignoring the large pangs they felt at seeing it.

Coulson was horrified. They had been here before. Skye, poisoned.* They'd needed a miracle drug to save her, a miracle drug that was currently buried under a mountain. All of it. She couldn't survive twice. Nobody was that lucky, not even Skye, the helpless rookie who'd turned into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents. He couldn't afford to lose her.

When at last they reached the hospital, there was chaos. She was taken into the operating theatre immediately, but they could do very little except hook her up to life support. Skye wouldn't be pulled back now. Now she would just float and drift until it was time to say goodbye.

* * *

><p>Ward sat up in bed, panting. His brothers. His parents. And always Garret, laughing and telling him what to do, and always, always Skye. Sometimes she lay on the floor, asking for help before disappearing. Sometimes she had been shot, or stabbed, or poisoned. But she always asked for help. And sometimes he would try, but when he got too close, she would die.<p>

Most of the time he'd shout in his sleep. The first few times it happened, one of his men came running. He claimed to have been on the telephone. They just ignored him now. Ward wondered if he was mad. He knew Garret was dead. But Skye? He didn't know that. What if Garret was lying? He would have to go and kill her properly. But, Ward realised, he didn't want her to be dead. He wanted her to live a long and happy life. With... him.

That had to be wrong. He hated her. She worked for Coulson, who he hated. But did he really? After all that Coulson had done for him. They'd all done things for him. But did he owe Skye this?

Ward got up and went into the bathroom. He opened up the cabinet and pulled out the small plastic phial. Labelled GH 325. Garret had pressed it into his hand, saying that if he got into a spot of bother it would save him. Would it save Skye. He didn't want to give it to her - Garret had gone mad and, eventually, it had gotten him killed. But Skye had had some before. It had done nothing but heal her. Coulson was given some, he was fine. Maybe it had just reacted with the Centipede serum.

And if Skye was dead. Coulson was, wasn't he? It brought him back. Why not Skye? Ward got out his laptop and searched for the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It was a couple of miles away, and that was where they would go.

Grant Ward stood up. John Garret stood up too, but Ward pushed him back down.

** *In this AU, Skye was poisoned by Quinn, not shot, because the story wouldn't really work if she was shot in the same place three times.**

**websky- Thank you so much for being my first reviewer! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.**

** That's all for reviewers, but please do let me know what you think! **


	5. Searching

**To be honest, I have no idea where this story will go. If you have something that you think would make the story better, please leave a review to let me know!**

Ward knew where she was. Ward knew that she was alive. But how did he get to her? May would kill him as soon as he got too close. And if he got to Skye, she'd never forgive him. Ever. Why was he bothering?

Because he loved her.

But he didn't. Couldn't. Wasn't allowed to love her. For goodness' sake, he wasn't allowed to love anyone, let alone a young hacker who would hate his guts forever because he messed up hers.

It was simple. He'd get on the bus. Cure her. Grant Ward was beyond caring now. Did he want to die? Probably. He had nothing to live for, after all. And who better to kill him than the Cavalry herself? As long as he gave them the GH 325. But he didn't know if they'd believe him, didn't know if they would throw it away and dismiss it as poison.

What if she died in the operating theatre?

* * *

><p>They stood up as she entered. They looked towards her, full of hope. She felt terrible as, slowly, she gave a small shake of her head.<p>

"She won't make it."

The reactions varied. Simmons sat down, hard. Fitz blinked back tears. May stood frozen with rage. Coulson started asking questions so fast that his tongue tripped over. The nurse started nodding and shaking her head in answer to the questions - those she could answer, anyway. Until the door slammed shut. With a click, it locked and Coulson ran towards the small window to see a dark head.

"Ward," he growled, and kicked the door down.

Ward started to run. Christian was beside him, taunting him, and Ward shrunk until he was so small that Christian could step on him. "Got a girlfriend, Grant?" he sneered.

"Out of my way!" he yelled, shoving his brother aside, and, hearing footsteps behind him, he broke into a run. Skye, where was Skye...? She needed him, he needed h-

No, he didn't.

She needed him. He had the drug. He had no idea where to go. No idea. Ward stopped. He turned around. He put his hands up, holding only the small plastic tube. Coulson. May.

"I don't care what you do to me," he said cautiously, "But give this to her. It saved her befor-"

Ward's last conscious thought was to wonder why Agent May had gone to the trouble of using her foot to kick his face in, instead of a simple punch.

* * *

><p>A splitting headache. A strange heaviness. A darkness behind his eyelids. A noise. Grant sat up. Grant opened his eyes. Someone was glaring at him. Who? His head...<p>

"Ouch," he said, as his vision cleared. Melinda May.

"You deserved it," she said. She was not a woman of many words.

Ward stood up. "Did you give it to her?"

"What?"

"The GH 325. The serum I gave you. Did you give it to Skye?"

"You mean you actually thought we'd believe you? People don't just change their minds, Ward, especially not when they shoot defenceless girls in the back!"

Ward sank down to the floor. "Have you destroyed it?"

"FitzSimmons are running tests on it."

He jumped up. "I'm not lying! Garret gave the serum to me before he died; he said to use it if I got in trouble! Is she dead? Please tell me she isn't dead..."

May rose. "I don't know what Garret did to you, but you sure are crazy."

The door opened and he sprung forward, cracking his hand down on her head. With a grunt she fell and Ward ran out through the door. A night-night gun lay on the table, which he picked up and took to the lab. Both Fitz and Simmons were bent over something.

Ward barely knew what he was doing, but his hands moved of their own accord and soon both of them were lying unconscious. Ignoring the fear that was snaking through him, he went to the table. But the serum was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p>Wake up, Skye.<p>

Keep fighting, Skye.

Coulson was at her bedside, willing, trying with all his power to keep her alive. He listened to the rhythmic _bleeps _of the machines that were filtering her blood and breathing for her. He held her hand - the one that was not covered in wires - in the hope that she would recognise the touch and open her eyes.

She recognised the touch.

But she couldn't open her eyes.

Coulson searched and searched for some sign, something to tell him that Skye was still in there somewhere. He searched, but if she was then she was buried too deep to find. A loud alarm sounded, making him jump, and Skye moved, an expression of panic on her otherwise blank face. She stretched out, trying to rid herself of this unseen force.

"Simmons, get down here!" he barked into the coms, but there was no reply. "Simmons!"

He swore, and started to imitate Simmons' movements, pumping at Skye's chest. _About thirty times,_ he thought. _At a brisk pace. _His breathing grew more rapid as hers stabilised. Where was Simmons? Fitz? May, even?

Coulson swore again.

Ward.

** That's all for now, folks!**

** A/N- I have no idea if any of the medical strategies here actually work. I just use my very slim knowledge of first aid. For health and safety reasons, I ask you NOT TO TRY THIS AT HOME.**

** And with that out of the way, time for reviews!**

**Salkri-Kachemench- I'm glad you find the story interesting. I will try not to kill off Skye... I'll try to involve more Ward if that's what you're interested in!**

** annavale23- I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'll try to update as quickly as I can!**

** That's all for reviews! Don't forget to leave one!**


	6. Saving

**Next chapter's up! Read, enjoy and review! **

Coulson stood frozen. What could he do? He couldn't let Ward get too close. He couldn't leave Skye. If Ward somehow got past him... he would finish her off. But if he stayed here then there was too big a chance that he would kill the others. Simmons hadn't answered him. Fitz should have been with her. May was with Ward, the last time he'd checked. If May was out of action, who would drive the plane? Ward was the only one who knew how - what if he hijacked it?

He looked at Skye. One life for four? Possibly more? Maybe worth it. Coulson felt more than a twinge of regret as he locked the door behind him. He walked slowly, slowly towards the cell in which Ward was held.

* * *

><p>One small plastic test tube. The label was familiar. GH 325. He grabbed it. He ran.<p>

The medpod... the medpod...

He knew the bus, but panic had frozen his mind.

Not that way, said his mother.

Turn around, said his father.

Don't give it to her, said Garret, Let her die.

"Shut up, Garret," said Ward, and turned around.

* * *

><p>Lying there, still and pale and almost dead, she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. It was his fault, though, all his fault. Garret tried to push him back - the pain of it felt almost real - but he strode forwards. He held the syringe towards her.<p>

* * *

><p>May was not happy. He'd only knocked her down for a few minutes, but the pain she felt was unbelievable. She grunted, heaving herself up, and ran to the control room.<p>

"Coulson, Ward's escaped. Coulson!"

No reply. She looked at the screen. There was Ward, pushing against the door. She couldn't see Coulson - wait. There he was, at the lab. Bent over two bodies.

No.

It was ok, he straightened with a plain look of relief on his face. He turned to the table and the smile fell off as quickly as it had landed. He began to search, before joining May in running towards the pod.

* * *

><p>Wards arms were twisted behind his back, the serum snatched from his grasp.<p>

"No! Please, I just want to save her!" His arms twisted further. A grinning garret watched, with a satisfied expression on his face. "What are you doing here?" He spat, "Come to mock me? I was only ever loyal to you. Only ever worked for you. One girl. One girl who I loved. Can you really deny me one girl?"

The other two exchanged bewildered glances. Who was he talking to? Was he mad?

"You're a specialist, son. Don't get attached."

"One girl!" Ward exploded, "Just let me save her."

He broke down into a sob, and Skye's heartbeat spike. She began to twist and turn. Coulson began to resuscitate again. He took the tube.

"Coulson, no!" May yelled, "What are you doing?"

"If there's one chance," he breathed, "In a million that he isn't lying, we need to take it."

And he put the needle into her stomach.

* * *

><p>Skye stopped breathing. Her heart stopped beating. She flatlined, and Ward collapsed. Too late. He didn't notice May's repeated punches, the kicks, the slaps. He didn't see Coulson trying desperately to revive her. He saw only her ghost, looking at him.<p>

"I thought you loved me," she whispered, "I thought you cared. You said you'd save me." He stared, wide eyed, as she walked over to him. "I believed you wouldn't kill me."

She screamed. He screamed. The machine screamed. Skye drew in a jagged gasp of oxygen.

* * *

><p>Ward woke up back in the cell. His hands were cuffed together, behind him. He realised that they must have used some sort of knockout serum on him. He didn't really remember.<p>

Hello, boy.

We missed you.

You killed us, boy. Why?

"Who are you?"

We are all those you have killed.

We are those tortured souls who should not have died.

You betrayed us.

You told us you were on our side.

I should never have given you that gun, said Victoria Hand. I thought you were one of us.

Suddenly, the room was full of people, yelling, shaking their fists. Ward shrank back into the corner, shaking. What was happening? Why were they targeting him?

* * *

><p>She woke up first, groggily opening her eyes and wincing at the sudden light in the room.<p>

"Fitz," she said sleepily, "We're not in the lab."

He grunted. "Simmons? What happened?"

"I don't know, but... I don't think we're even on the bus anymore."

"D'you think Ward...?"

"No. I think he shot us, but wouldn't we be tied up or- you know, dead?"

"Fair point. Where are we? This bed is nice, though..."

"Fitz, don't you dare fall asleep." Simmons kept her voice steady.

"Wasn't planning to," he said quickly, "Shall we get up?"

"Why not?"

They got up and left the white room. They travelled through several corridors of similar colours, before seeing a doctor.

"Excuse me," asked Simmons, using initiative, "But where are we?"

"Agents Fitz and Simmons?"

They exchanged glances. "That's us."

"Follow me."

Seeing no reason not to, they did as she asked. In time, they were led to a small room, with a grey door. The two looked at the door, then each other. "Is this-"

"She's in there. Don't excite her; she's in a delicate state."

They hardly heard. Skye was in there. Simmons opened the door, let her friend in, and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Skye woke up slowly. Not fast, in a sudden jolt, but gradually, her mind first, then her eyes, then her body. She stirred. Opened her eyes and stared straight in to those of Agent Coulson.<p>

"Wow," she croaked, "I hurt."

"I'm not surprised. You've been through quite a lot."

"Did anyone get hurt? I mean, I didn't think he'd do it... I saw Simmons fall! She isn't... dead? Please, please! I'm sorry!"

She tried to sit up, but he put his hands on her shoulders, effectively pinning her to the bed. She struggled for a couple of seconds, before giving a low moan and slumping back onto the bed.

"Oh no, did I hurt you?"

"No," she murmured, "But do the doctors have any painkillers?"

"Agent Coulson? I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We can't overwork her."

"What? Oh, yes. Of course." he got up.

"Don't go," she said.

"I'll send somebody else in."

He left and was fairly quickly replaced by two others. Skye was tired and her vision blurred slightly, so she closed her eyes.

"Is she meant to be asleep?" a voice piped up through the shadows. Simmons? Simmons was dead. Skye's back hurt. And her stomach. Her whole body hurt, for that matter. Why? Wait. A bullet... Ward! He made her hurt!

"I'm not asleep," she said, "But I am kind of tired. Can I have some coffee?"

Fitz - if it was Fitz - laughed. She joined in. Who was it? Was Simmons not dead?

"Simmons?"

"I'm here. It's me."

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

She laughed. "Who told you that?"

"Ward shot you too. I saw you fall."

"Skye," Fitz broke in calmly, "Nobody's dead."

Her mouth formed a soft O, before she let out a short laugh. If she was dead, she probably wouldn't be in so much pain. But she didn't really mind the pain.

The pain, you see, kept her alive.

** There you go, Salkri Kachemench, she's alive!**

** Reviews!**

** babycraycray- I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll try to carry on updating!**

** annavale23- Thank you so much for reviewing again! I'm glad you find it interesting! This is only my third fic, so I'm a bit nervous about how it'll go down. Is there anyone you'd like Ward to see?**

** mol- Thank you for reviewing! It really means a lot to me! I'm glad you like it.**

** That's all for that chapter, please do give me some feedback.**


	7. Arguing

**New chapter! Read, enjoy, and review!**

"Can I sit up?"

"No, Skye, for the seventh time in two days, you cannot even _try _to sit up. Stay down."

"Can I do _anything _right now? I can't even sit up... come on, Simmons..."

"No! You barely have any colour in your cheeks and, to be completely honest, you shouldn't even have had the breathing tubes removed yet. And _don't pull at those wires!_"

"Sorry," she said glumly, "Maybe if I had something to do I wouldn't be so bored out of my mind. Can I not read a book, even?"

"I'll make you deal. You sleep, I'll give you a book to read when you wake up."

Skye groaned. Seriously? It was all sleep, rest, don't move, medication, sleep. "You can be very bossy, Dr. Simmons. You know that?"

"Maybe I need to be. Now sleep."

"Make me," she muttered.

"Oh, Skye," she sighed, and injected the sedative.

"What the-? That's not fai..."

Simmons chuckled and began to administer the medication.

* * *

><p>Grant. Grant, why did you do it?<p>

"Do what?" he murmured sleepily.

Throw me in. Why did you listen to Christian? I never did anything to you.

"Thomas?"

That's me.

And there's me, too.

And us.

"Why has nobody decided to explain why my entire family's come to haunt me?"

Oh, we aren't haunting you, Grant.

We're still alive. In your head, you know. You just pushed us out. But we don't want to be pushed out, not any more. We want to be free now, Grant. You could have let us go! You could! But you didn't. Why didn't you set us free?

"You didn't let me! You ruined my life, messed me up so much that I was forced to work for HYDRA, betray my friends, the girl I loved. I could have had a life! But you stopped me. You crushed my dreams and left me to pick up the pieces. No wonder I pushed you out."

That wasn't us, Grant.

You made your own choices.

And you are paying for them.

"Leave me alone!"

No, Grant.

* * *

><p>"Coulson, you might want to see this."<p>

"What's going on?"

"Ward's having a freak out. Screaming and stuff. I think we might need to sedate him."

Coulson came over to the screen. "I see what you mean," he said, "Do you want to go in or should I?"

"You can. Have a night-night gun. One should do it. Aim for the side of the neck."

"Thanks. Oh, and Fitz? Go and visit Skye, will you? She's bored."

"Copy that. With Simmons playing doctors, it's not that surprising. She's fanatical."

"I think that's a little harsh."

"Mmm," he said, "Probably true though."

Fitz went into the pod. Skye was lying in bed, clearly sound asleep. A voice sounded from behind and he jumped.

"Fitz?"

"Simmons! Uh, hi. Did you sedate her? She looks a bit..."

"Yes. She was being a little difficult. I've been trying to find a book for her."

"She's got loads in her bunk. I can get a couple if you want."

"We need something easier. I don't want her to strain herself reading; her brain needs to focus on her recovery. Which, in fact, is alarming. She should still be wanting to sleep most of the time, but she's already on the next stage. Whatever this drug is, it is miraculous."

"I thought we already established that? It worked before. And no more blood samples."

"Agreed," she sighed, "Does Coulson have any children's books?"

Fitz snorted. "You cannot be serious. She'll flip!"

"What else do I do? I promised..."

"She's strong. Give her one of her own. I'll go grab some."

Simmons winced but said nothing and nodded. She went over to the girl in question and began to check her wounds. "Fitz, come here. Look at this."

"What?" he didn't notice anything extraordinary. It was a gunshot wound, and a painful one at that. Why was it different to anything else?

"Look closely. There." Fitz watched in astonishment as small blue specks of light made their way around the clotted blood on her back. "Let's turn her over. See if it's the same on her stomach."

"Right." They twisted her carefully, avoiding the wiring and machinery. Simmons slowly lifted her top so that they could see her stomach. It was the same: almost invisible to the naked eye but definitely, definitely there. They looked at each other. "What do you think it is?"

"I can't say. I'd love to take a blood sample, but the doctors advised me against it. Said she'd lost too much."

"I'm not surprised, the amount you took last time."

"That wasn't my fault! But this time, if we just took some from the wound...?"

"No."

"Come on, Fitz, this could be on of the greatest medical breakthroughs in all time!"

"Yeah, and it could also kill Skye."

"A fair point, but..."

"But nothing. Leave it, Simmons."

* * *

><p>He screamed. It was what he liked to call a masculine scream, more of a low, hoarse yell than shriek. He clamped his hands over his ears. He barely felt the sweat and tears pouring down his face. He knocked his head against the wall.<p>

"Ward!" someone called to him through the haze. Coulson. "Ward, stop!"

"Not you too. Go away! I don't want you here!"

"Ward, I don't know what's wrong with you, but we're going to try and fix it. Ok? Calm down."

He didn't calm down. He yelled again. A sharp sting came in the back of his neck. "What the heck?" he muttered.

But he embraced the darkness gratefully.

* * *

><p>Skye felt drowsy. She opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? Did she fall asleep? Hang on - the needle. Simmons sedated her! Skye turned painfully to her bedside table. Sure enough, there was the pile of books, as promised. Why sedate her? She realised that she was lying on her back now, and that was why it hurt so much. She picked up the book on the top of the pile.<p>

_The Knife of Never Letting Go._ A favourite, one that she had read six times over. She opened it in the middle and started to read from there. Skye could never stand beginnings. She liked to dive straight into the action. A couple of chapters in, however, Simmons bustled in.

"I need a blood sample."

A groan came from the patient in the bed. "Don't start this again. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. But I hardly have any blood left!"

"Just the one," Simmons promised, "But there is one... small problem. I need to take it from-"

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

She shook her head. "I need to take it from the sight of the wound."

Skye breathed a sigh of relief. "Could have been worse. Not as bad as I was imagining. Will it hurt? Can't you use anaesthetic or something?"

"Anaesthetic may affect our results, I'm afraid. We are looking to see how the cells in your blood react to the wound now that the drug has been administered."

"Right. Should I brace myself?"

"Don't tense your body! That could open the wound!"

"Great. Just do it," she moaned. This was obviously going to hurt. Simmons never said that things would. She closed her eyes, listening to the preparations. It was near impossible to not tense herself, as she did before all injections.

"Ready? On three. One, two..."

Skye bit back a scream as the needle pierced her stomach. Simmons knew that she was doing the wrong thing as she began to take the sample. She saw her teeth clench together and nearly jumped when a pained cry escaped Skye's lips. Her eyelids fluttered. Sweat shone on her forehead.

"Ok. It's over. Over," she said, stroking the hair off her forehead, "It's over now. Are you ok? Skye?"

* * *

><p>Fitz heard a shout from downstairs. Just one. He wondered what it was, before he remembered the blood sample. "Simmons," he said, "What have you done?"<p>

He started to make his way to the medpod, but on the way he met her. "Oh, hello," she said nervously, trying to get round him, "I need to check something in the lab."

Fitz raised an eyebrow. "How much did you take? Where from?"

"Just a sample." she held up the phial to show him.

"From where?"

"Her... stomach."

It took all the self-restraint Fitz had to keep himself from slapping her. What a stupid thing to do! The wound, of course. He was surprised that Skye hadn't screamed. No matter how small the needle, opening and taking blood from a five day old gunshot wound would be agony. He started towards the pod again, brushing past her so as not to see the hurt in her eyes.

Skye was rattled, but fine. As soon as Fitz came in, she put and finger to her lips and held up a note, reading _Can you bring me my laptop?_

"Why can't Simmons?"

"Won't let me," she hissed, "And I'm trying to get revenge. You know she sedated me?"

"Yep. Do you want anything else?"

"That'll be all. Don't get caught. And Fitz?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she grinned. He laughed and left, the stealth of his "mission" drawing the blood sample from his mind.

**I know that the first aid (if that's the right term) in this chapter is very, very incorrect, but I had to make most of it up so it worked. Luckily, the drug being alien, it's a very wide area that's free for ideas.**

** Time for reviews!**

** annavale23- As you can see, I put Thomas in this chapter. I'm not sure if I did it quite right, so if you'd like me to change it just say so. Thank you so much for reviewing AGAIN, it means a lot to me that you take time to review.**

** Guest- You can see that they've already realised that he is sort of crazy. I might put in the next few chapters some stuff on why they think he's crazy. Maybe I'll even put in a SkyeWard scene! Thanks for reviewing!**

** That's all for today. Please leave a review with requests or just feedback!**


	8. Seeing

**New chapter! Read, enjoy, and review!**

Fitz was very quiet. He slipped around corners, pausing to check that nobody was there before continuing. He kept his thoughts focused on the mission. He needed to get to the other side without being noticed, so that he could pick up the necessary items and head back, again unseen. Skye'so life depended on it.

Well, maybe not her _life, _but it was close enough. He looked around stealthily before heading towards her bunk. It was locked.

"Fitz?" Simmons. Dammit. He was caught. "Fitz, why are you trying to get into Skye's bunk?"

"No? Uh, yes... wait! No! No. Why would I try to get get into Skye's bunk?" he laughed nervously, "I was just, um, walking by all normally, nothing suspicious at all, when I saw that her door was locked so I wondered-"

"Did she put you up to this?"

"Nooooo..." he said, a little too fast, but she gave him a look and he forgot to finish, eventually letting his voice trail into nothing.

"I locked the door so that nobody would get her laptop. I thought she might target you."

"Er, target me?"

"Busted," said Coulson, walking past.

"Wait," he called desperately. Coulson laughed.

"Fitz?"

Fitz did the only thing he could think of. He ran.

* * *

><p>He unlocked the door later on, when Simmons had gone to check that Skye was "being good," as she called it. He ran in, grabbed the laptop, and locked it again. Coulson came past and Fitz awkwardly hid it behind his back. Coulson gave him a strange look but said nothing. Now he just had to wait till Jemma was away. Or could he... not? She wouldn't be suspicious then. He crammed the laptop into a small bag, along with some books.<p>

She was just finishing as he came in. "I brought some more books," he said, "In case you were bored."

Skye's face had originally lightened up, but when he carelessly spoke the words and showed her the bag it fell considerably. At a glance, it was full of books. But then she saw the corner of the laptop poking, and she wiped all emotion from her face. It reminded Fitz painfully of when she had turned to face Ward.

"I'll be off, then," said Simmons. She had gone a little red. Fitz gave her a little wave and, after what seemed like forever, she was out of sight.

"Did you bring it?" Skye asked eagerly. He grinned and they then entered a short period of time in which neither of them could remove the laptop from the seemingly impossibly small bag which contained it. "How did you manage to fit it in?"

Fitz wrenched it free, nearly hitting himself in the nose. "I'm really not sure."

* * *

><p>"Can you hear me? Hello?"<p>

Ward awoke to find someone waving a hand in front of his face. His eyes were already open, he found out, so he blinked several times to clear them. He didn't feel interested in sitting up. In fact he felt weak and listless. What was wrong?

"Are you real?" he whispered, "Did I kill you? Hurt you? Do I know you?"

"No," she said sadly, "No, you don't. How do you feel?"

"Horrible. Where am I?"

"You're in a S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility. I understand that you've being hallucinating?"

And suddenly he remembered. Suddenly they reappeared, all of them. All crowded round. Ward shrunk into his bedcovers. "Don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said firmly, misinterpreting his actions, "I'm here to take care of you."

"Not you! Them!"

He lashed out suddenly, and his fist connected with her stomach. With a grunt the air left her lungs and she stumbled backwards, doubled over. He went white and started shaking. People rushed in. "We don't want to hurt you!"

"Restrain me," he said, "Lock me up. Just keep... them away!"

Garret came forwards. You can't escape us, boy.

Mike Peterson. We'll follow you.

"What!" he cried in disbelief. "Why are _you _here?!"

Because I hate you.

So do I.

And I.

Me too.

And then Skye. He felt like he'd been slapped in the face. I hate you, too, she said, More than you know. You betrayed me. You'd see me dead.

"You'd see me dead. But I couldn't hurt you."

Is that how you felt before you shot me in the back? I didn't think you would. I was wrong.

"Please, Skye... I made a mistake. I... I just want you to forgive me."

She shook her head. No.

* * *

><p>It felt great to have her laptop back. Her fingers skipped over the keys and Skye began to type. She didn't know what to hack. There was choice. What about a satellite? That would be a challenge, but a fun one. For no reason whatsoever. Fitz quietly backed out of the room, but she barely glanced up.<p>

Skye could see the world. And she felt like the queen of it.

Until Simmons started banging on the window. Simmons had been very bossy, lately. She was almost different to the kindly girl that they all knew. Skye wasn't sure what it was about, but she knew that she was angry. It was almost comical, watching her shout through the glass but not being able to hear a thing.

With a sigh, she snapped the laptop shut. Simmons opened the door and stormed in.

"No!" she said, "No! Not yet!"

"Why not?"

"You're weak! Y-"

"Oh, thank you very much!"

"Skye, you've taken a bullet straight through your stomach! I'm trying to help you!"

Skye sank into the covers and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to win this one. Not by any standards. "Can I have some water?" she asked.

Simmons nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Like death. Only more painful."

* * *

><p>"Fitz," Simmons said, "Could I have a private word?"<p>

He looked up. "Yeah. Is this about the sample?"

"No," she said shyly, "No, it's more about Skye."

"What? Oh... is it about the laptop?"

She bit her lip. "Almost. I just wanted to know... Is there something going on between you and Skye? Not that I mind if there is, or anything, but I think I should know really. I mean, it's quite a big thing to hide, and I understand if you don't want me to tell anyone, but given the circumstances...?"

He looked at her in horror. "Simmons. There is nothing going on between me and Skye."

"Oh... nothing? At all?" she asked faintly.

"Nothing," he frowned. She had turned a delicate shade of pink whereas he was sure that he was blushing scarlet. "Is that everything?"

"Um, yes. I- I think so."

"Good, then."

Skye couldn't work out why Simmons was suddenly much nicer to her after that. Maybe she'd been imagining it.

* * *

><p>"We're not sure what's wrong with him. Possibly some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. We know that he's hallucinating badly, seeing all sorts of people who aren't there."<p>

"Is there something that could break him out of his state? Someone he loves? A councillor?"

"Not that we know of. It's a condition we haven't seen before: he sees people just as normal. We think he's having trouble dividing the worlds of real and not."

"So what do we do?"

"What can we do? Confine him? Put him on medication? Talk to him?"

"Officially, he's a criminal, so we should keep him locked up."

"We can't just leave him in a cell to rot. How will that help him, being alone with all his illusions?"

"Should we contact the director?"

"Director Fury won't be happy that we contacted him over such a small matter."

"Is there a girl? Somebody he loves that can pull him out of this?"

"Not that we know of. We could ask Agent Coulson. Ward used to be on his team."

"Interesting. Contact him."

And Ward lay on the hospital bed, with no knowledge of anything.

** Yes! I reached ten reviews! Not much, I realise, but it's an achievement to me.**

** I tried to add a little humour to this chapter. Not sure how it went, so please leave some feedback on it!**

** Reviews!**

** annavale23- Thank you so much for reviewing AGAIN, it means so much to me that you take the time to. I'm glad you enjoyed the Thomas part, and the Fitz/Skye part. I hope I didn't give them too much of a romantic relationship, because I want to build on FitzSimmons.**

** rebeccaskyeward12- Well done for picking up on that! I wondered if anybody would! Thanks for reviewing!**

** That's all for now! Please leave a review: they help me develop ideas for the plot and I like to hear what others have to say. Thank you to everyone who's followed/favourited this fic so far!**


	9. Missing

**Next chapter! Read, enjoy and review!**

Simmons exhaled slowly. Then she drew in a deep breath. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

That was possibly one of the most embarrassing and traumatic experiences of her life.

Why? Why? What had she done to deserve this terrible fate? Why had she done that? She sort of missed him, but... Maybe she would jump off the plane. But then, of course, on the way down she'd have to deal with the mortification of it. All the way. And what if she didn't land in the sea? That would make a mess for the general public. Probably scar them for life. Probably best not to. Simmons would never be able to look at him again. Ever. She didn't care for him, anyway, he was just a friend, but...

Did she?

And suddenly this new possibility leapt into her head. She was terrified. Mortified. Horrified. What if he found out? What if he thought that about her? How did Fitz even see her? As some clever girl who had a crush on him? Oh, no.

What if he told Skye?

* * *

><p>Fitz panicked. What had just happened?<p>

Simmons thought that him and Skye were...

This was a bad situation. He was sure he'd confessed something without meaning to. She was good at finding hidden meaning, reading between the lines. He'd probably let something slip without even meaning to. What did she think they were up to?

Fitz didn't even want to think about that.

Maybe he should find her. Speak to her. Yes, that was an idea. Maybe not a good idea, but it was an idea. In fact it was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. Why has he thought of that? How stupid of him. It was a terrible idea.

Actually, maybe it wasn't...?

* * *

><p>Skye had no idea what was going on with FitzSimmons, but it was bad. Hilariously so. Once, she had seen Simmons come down, peer through the door, see Fitz and hurry away again. She wondered whether she should ask, just for personal entertainment, but decided against it eventually. It would be fun to try and figure it out herself.<p>

Coulson visited her frequently. He would ask awkward questions about how she felt and what she thought about. She begged him to give her a mission, to give her something to do, but he always made the excuse that there was nothing that needed doing. Skye didn't believe him. There would always be things to hack. Military databases, HYDRA...

"It's funny," Skye remarked casually one afternoon, "I don't see very much of you or Fitz down here anymore. Have you lost interest in me?"

"Oh! Um, well... I suppose seeing as your condition isn't critical any more, it isn't exactly vital," she lied, totally unaware that Skye already knew the real reason why she didn't come down much.

"You and Fitz... you guys are really... tight. It's like you kind of speak the same language, you know?"

Skye sniggered at the look on Simmons' face.

* * *

><p>It was funny. He missed her. He could never seem to find her any more...<p>

* * *

><p>Ward woke up. He had a drip attached to his arm. He had been sedated. Why...? The people were gone. They wouldn't be gone for long, he knew, but for now... they were gone. And he relished the fact.<p>

He hadn't realised how much they'd weighed down on him. He carried them round, burdens that only got heavier and heavier. He didn't know what the IV drip was doing, but it was really _nice. _He felt really good. Like nothing mattered. Like he didn't have to care any more. It was wonderful.

Maybe they had him on drugs. Legal drugs, of course. Ward nearly laughed at the thought of S.H.I.E.L.D. doing something illegal. It was out of the question. He was glad, though. Maybe he was even grateful. Did his loyalties really lie with HYDRA? He didn't think so. He was only ever loyal to Garret.

He didn't think he was any more.

Why should he be? Garret was causing him pain. Reducing him to little more than a shivering wreck. Why be loyal to somebody like that? He was probably more loyal to HYDRA than S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, they hated him. HYDRA may not have wanted to help him but at least they would not shoot him on sight. They would if he was Skye.

Skye. He missed her.

Skye.

* * *

><p>"A few days. Maybe on Monday you can try standing up. Tuesday you can walk for a bit, see if it hurts you. And if it does, you go straight back down, ok?"<p>

Skye barely heard her. In a few days she would be able to walk again. In a few days she would be normal aga- "You won't be back to normal again. That'll take maybe a few more days until you can move around. Next Friday you can go back to your bunk."

She grinned. "I'm already counting down the days."

Simmons nodded. "I've got to go now. Coulson wants me."

She closed the door behind her gently, looking back to see Skye pick up _The Hunger Games _and begin to read. Poor Skye. She headed towards Coulson and the others. They were all there.

All three of them.

It hit her, the lack of Skye and Ward. Suddenly. Only four left. She sat down. "Wow," said Coulson, voicing her thoughts, "There aren't so many of us."

"What is it?" May interrupted.

"Ward," Coulson said, and Simmons felt Fitz stiffen beside her. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and for once he didn't brush it away.

"What about him?"

"He's in a bad state. Doctors think he might be suffering something similar to PTSD. Not exactly, but very similar. It seems to be a unique situation and they aren't sure how to control it."

"What are they doing now? Is he dangerous?"

"He has lashed out a couple of times. They say that he really believes that he's surrounded by people who he knew or has killed. Right now he's been sedated and kept in a secure medical unit."

"Where do we come into this?" Fitz asked slowly.

"Skye. They think that seeing her might improve his situation. Apparently he talks to her a lot and meeting her, seeing her better might help him recuperate."

"And you think," May said sarcastically, "That Skye is going to jump at the chance to go and have a cozy chat with the man who shot her in the back."

"It's possible," Coulson said.

"No," said Fitz, "No, it really isn't. I can't just let her go in there."

"They'll bad in a secure room, with a barrier between them. Ward's not going to intentionally hurt anyone in his state and-"

"No!" Simmons interrupted, "No! We can't just send her in like that!"

"It's wrong," May agreed, "But she could."

** My review record! Four! It doesn't seem like much to other people, but it really means a lot to me.**

** School starts again for me the day after tomorrow, so I might not be updating as regularly. I can probably get one up tomorrow, and the next day if I can, but after that it might all go a bit crazy.**

** Reviews!**

** annavale23- I'm glad you're on Ward's side! Quite a few people don't really like him. It always makes me happy when I get a review from you!**

** I have too much spare time- Your review made me smile like a tiny child who's been given another chocolate bar! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! Thanks for reviewing!**

** websky- Thank you for reviewing again! If you like, I can build on Skye and Fitz's relationship!**

** Belle97- I'm glad you enjoyed the fic! Thanks for reviewing!**

** That's all! See you metaphorically in the next chapter (who knows when that will be) and don't forget to review!**


	10. Walking

**New chapter! Please read, enjoy and review!**

Skye's breath quickened. She wasn't meant to be listening, but when you're stuck in bed with a laptop and a few books to keep you company and everyone else is having a meeting, it is hard not to hack into something. Particularly as there were bugs that she'd planted round the plane when with the Rising Tide.

She'd meant to remove them, of course... but she kept seeming to completely forget. And they had been shut down. But Skye knew how to access them from her laptop, which was always an advantage. However, she had _not _been expecting that. She couldn't go and talk to Ward! Why on Earth and, in fact, everywhere else, did Coulson expect her to be able to?

But a part of Skye... wanted to. Wanted to see him. See how messed up she had made him. Because, she admitted, it was probably her fault. Not directly, but because of her. And she didn't know how to react to that. She didn't know what she'd managed to do, or how she'd managed to do it. But she knew that he was evil. He deserved it, didn't he? Deserved to go the same way as Garret? He'd shot her.

Skye wondered, though... was it really his fault? Did he really mean to shoot her? Or was it just these "people" that were making him insane? Because she couldn't blame him. There was a certain hatred that she felt for him, but hearing about him like this...

She couldn't blame a madman.

* * *

><p>Coulson was down there, and FitzSimmons too. The pod seemed very crowded all of a sudden. Skye had walked a few steps yesterday and stood for the first time the day before, and she felt ready. Coulson held out his hand, which she took, and stood. Her legs were a little shaky from being still for so long, but she began to walk.<p>

"Does it hurt?" Simmons asked nervously. Skye shook her head. There was a dull ache in the pit of her stomach, but she thought that that was probably more to do with what was to come. Fitz opened the door and Coulson led her out; apart from a small stumble it seemed that she was doing ok.

It was not a long journey to the living area, but to Skye it was the longest and yet most wonderful walk she had ever done. She sat on the chair nearest the table. "Scrabble, anyone?" Coulson asked and she nodded.

"I'll start," said Fitz.

"Well, you would say that," Simmons replied loftily before blushing bright red when she realised that Skye was grinning at her. She had broken the rule of silence. Fitz seemed unfazed, however, and started to play while Coulson looked bemused at the sudden silence.

"Twelve points," said Skye, "When do I have to meet Ward?"

The atmosphere turned from friendly to frightened in a matter of seconds as everyone processed what she'd said. They turned to look at her in astonishment. "How do you know about that?"

"Oops," said Skye.

"You weren't supposed to know that," Fitz said cautiously, "How do you know that?"

Coulson pulled his arm out from behind his chair. "With these? How many are there, Skye? How long have they been there?"

She groaned. "Since I was with the Rising Tide. They've been turned off since the Miles episode. I was bored and you know what? I think I had a right to know. I think it would be useful to know that you planned to send me in to have a lovely chat with a lovely man- oh no, wait, _he tried to kill me._"

"She has got a point," Fitz admitted.

"How many?" Coulson repeated, anger evident in his voice.

"Six," she said.

"Where?"

Skye pointed to five places around the room. The bugs were well hidden, so obvious that they had been taken simply as part of the plane: after all, nobody had any reason to think otherwise. Coulson was shaking with fury. He took every single one down.

"I had them turned off. Nobody could access them. They hardly worked anyway and that was only because I was at such a close range."

"That doesn't explain why you didn't take them down!"

"Because I was never alone! How do you think it would look? Probably like I was putting them up. And how would that look on my file? So I did what I could. I shut them down and set them so that all that any accessors would hear nothing but static. Fitz, check! Check to see when the last person accessed it."

Fitz glanced at his CO, who nodded briefly. He took one of the bugs and plugged it into Skye's laptop. He started typing and Simmons peered over his shoulder.

"Recorded uses," he murmured to himself, "Last recorded use, yesterday, 8:17 pm. Before that, it was... Eight months ago. She's telling the truth."

An audible sigh of relief spread through the room. "So when?"

"As soon as you feel up to it."

"How about never?"

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. As soon as you're well enough. Skye, if you really can't do this, we won't force you to, but..."

"We need Ward to co-operate. We need to break him out of this," Fitz finished lamely.

"And you think I can do that?"

"No, but they think it's possible."

"And what if it isn't possible? What if you're sending me in to an 'oh so secure' room where all this madman might try to do is kill me?"

"Skye, if you don't want to, you-"

"Don't have to, right. But I do, don't I?"

Coulson looked down at his feet uncomfortably. "Yes."

* * *

><p>Ward looked up sleepily as a nervous, twitching man entered the room. He was so tired, right now. He knew they had him sedated, and to be honest he didn't really mind. Sometimes they appeared in his dreams and he would wake up shouting, but, to a point, they left him during waking hours. Mostly.<p>

Of course, there the exceptions, such as today, when the small man came in. Garret again. Always Garret. Ward assumed that he was the ringleader, the leader, but he didn't know how, because hardly any of them actually knew each other and those who did generally appeared in small groups.

"What?" he asked angrily. The visitors always seemed to trigger the other visitors.

"I was asked to inform you that tomorrow you are to have a visitor," the man announced grandly.

"Who? A shrink?"

"No," the man continued, "Her name is Skye."

"Are you serious?"

"Most certainly. She arrives at noon tomorrow and for that reason we will be moving you to a more secure zone."

"A prison cell?"

The man looked uncomfortable. "We prefer the term..."

"Just tell me. Are you taking off the sedation?"

"Yes," he said, and left. Ward groaned. He had a pretty good idea of why the visitor stream had slowed down. And they were taking it away. But Skye was coming.

Skye? He wasn't sure. What if Skye was just the doctor's name? What if she wasn't coming at all? She had been shot, she would still be weak... And if she did come, what would he say? What would _she _say? That she hated him? That she swore to kill him? He would deserve every word of it, but...

He wanted her to come. Wanted to see her, alive and well. Wanted to hear her real voice, not some illusion of her dying. At least she wouldn't die. What if he flipped? What if he tried to kill her? What if he succeeded?

The endless possibilities swam round his head and he barely noticed as they led him away.

* * *

><p>Skye was terrified. Petrified. She would come face to face with him. She would have to speak to him, and not words of hatred, but words of reassurance. Pity, sympathy. Love. They told her she didn't have to, but she did. They told her she shouldn't go against her own free will, but she did. All for a man who she hated.<p>

And boy, did she hate him.

Hated him for shooting her. Hated him for playing her. Hated him for betraying the entire team. Hated him for throwing FitzSimmons into the ocean. Hated him for being like this, for forcing her to go in and smile at him like he'd never done anything, like he was still her SO. When in reality he was a psychopath.

Coulson put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and guided her through the swirling mass of white corridors. She started to shake. The walls started to close in on her. She felt sick. They descended a flight of stairs. They stopped at a door.

"This is it," Coulson said.

Skye drew in a deep breath.

Then she went in.

**Uh- oh! She's gone in! So, clearly, I have managed to get a chapter up today! School starts for me tomorrow, so I will try and get most of the chapter done this afternoon and finish it after school. The day after that is anyone's guess.**

** Reviews!**

** annavale23- I'm glad you liked FitzSimmons! They are definitely my favourite couple - they're so funny together! Thank you for being such a loyal reviewer!**

** Belle97- Haha, yes, she's reading The Hunger Games! She mentions it to Ward quite early, so I thought I'd put it in there! School should start today, but mine has the day off! I agree, Ward is much more likeable in fics. I guess everyone wants to like him! Thanks for reviewing!**

** I have to much spare time- Sorry, this chapter doesn't have much about Ward, but you can probably guess that there will be a lot in the next chapter! Thanks!**

** websky- That would be fun! I'll try and involve that in the next few chapters! How long do you think this should go on for! I was thinking maybe 13/14 chapters, but I'm not really sure... Thanks!**

** AOSshipper- If you want that, you'll probably enjoy the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me!**

**That's all for reviews! I'll try and post a new chapter tomorrow!**


	11. Meeting

**Aah, sorry, I know it's late! At this rate it's unlikely that I'll get one up tomorrow, but I only have a few more chapters to go until we're finished. Please stick with me until then!**

Ward crouched in the shadows. Maybe she wouldn't see him, and she would just vanish without the whole death thing. He knew she wasn't really there; why would she be? She would clearly never want anything to do with him again and there was no use imagining it. He couldn't watch. He shut his eyes.

"Ward, you know I can see you, right?"

She didn't usually talk like that. She usually cried out for help. She usually staggered, clutching her bleeding heart. "Are you real?" he asked.

"What else would I be?" Skye was careful to keep the tremor from her voice, to keep it expressionless and her eyes cold, unfeeling.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I was told to," she said. Always truthful, he thought. Well, normally.

"Why?"

"Why all the questions?"

"Tell me. Why?"

"Honestly? I don't actually know. So you'd better tell me what the heck is wrong with you before I go and call you a lost cause. Start talking."

He sighed. "There isn't much to tell. I see people. People who aren't there. People who shouldn't be there. People who hate me."

"Ever seen me?"

"Lots of times."

"Good."

He knew that she would say that, but the words still stung him. He didn't even know why he was telling her all this. It helped a little, he supposed, pouring his heart out to her. Even though she hated him, and everything. But still.

"I guess they sent you in to make me better."

"Can you see any now?" He nodded shakily. "Where? Who?"

"Garret," he said, "In the corner."

He pointed to the corner in question. Shut up, said Garret, irritated. Skye hesitated. The corner was behind the invisible wall. But he was hardly going to hurt her now. She pressed a couple of buttons and turned it off, before walking through. He shrunk backwards, torn between a desire to help her, to stop her, and a fear of both her and Garret. She stood in front of him - perhaps a little far off - and told him to go away.

Garret lunged a her, before disappearing. "Gone?" she asked, feeling ridiculous. The people watching upstairs must be laughing at her, talking to thin air. But to her surprise, he nodded slowly. "Any others?"

Ward shook his head no. How could she just do that? He hardly noticed the sarcasm dripping in her voice. He only noticed that they were gone. All of them. Except her. Was she even real? He couldn't quite work it out. She was so... cold. Unfeeling. It was as though she wasn't quite there. But she was, wasn't she?

* * *

><p>Simmons held her breath. She was getting through to him! How was she getting through to him? How could she even talk? She turned off the barrier? Fitz nearly went down there, but Coulson held up a hand to stop him. He shook his head as Skye talked to thin air and Ward started to nod his head.<p>

Was the girl magical? Or insane?

* * *

><p>She felt stupid. Her voice was dripping sarcasm but he didn't even seem to notice. She was completely at loss as to what she should do. She had "scared off" the "people" and had no idea what they expected her to say now. Should she walk out? She'd seen others do that during interrogations, but would that hurt him. She crouched down beside him.<p>

"Hey," she said softly, "Look at me."

He didn't look at her.

She got up. If that was how it was, then... she got up, turned the barrier back on and walked out.

Simmons was waiting with a steaming cup of tea. "Here," she said.

Skye gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Not as bad as him, I bet. He looks... not like Ward. Like some broken man who doesn't care any more."

She nodded sympathetically. "He is. A broken man, I mean."

Skye sipped the tea. "I just don't get why. What happened to him. How he got like this. It's like... I can never forgive him, let him in, but..."

"You can't hate somebody like that."

"Yeah."

"I understand."

"Fitz... he recovered, though. And he never... never lied."

"It was hard, though. He couldn't accept it. He wouldn't give himself time to heal."

"You think Ward will heal?"

"Possibly. He's lucky to have you. I think you got through. He listened to you."

"You should ask him out."

Simmons spat out her tea. "Ward?"

"No! Fitz."

"No! I mean... no... I never really saw him as anything other than my best friend... and he is. My best friend. I couldn't imagine life without him, but I'm not ready for... that."

"Do I have to go back in?"

"Not if you don't want to. We've got quite a lot out of him."

"I don't think I can face that again. I need sleep."

Simmons clapped a hand to her mouth. "I forgot! Does it hurt?"

"A bit," Skye said grimly, "But I'll live."

* * *

><p>Where had she gone? Would she come back? Was she real? Was she Skye? She was better. How could she be better? She was shot. She wasn't meant to survive. Had the drug... done something to her? Made her different? He hoped not. All Skye had ever wanted was to fit in. She'd hate that.<p>

He wondered if anyone else would come. He hoped not. If Coulson came in... Even Fitz. Ward remembered with pain what he had done. He was mad then, even then. What should he do? Ward noticed something, though, one thing.

They were gone. All of them.

**Sorry, guys, I know that this was not a long one and probably not very well written as I only had a couple of hours. An update tomorrow is quite unlikely.**

** And on that happy note, reviews!**

** annavale23- Aw, thank you! You're such a loyal reviewer! I'm glad you're enjoying this! Did I do it right? Thanks!**

** babycraycray- Do you think I did the meeting ok? It's really hard to know when you've done something right... Thank you for reviewing again!**

** websky- Thanks for your advice, I totally agree about the epilogue. I'm so glad you enjoyed this! I hope you liked this chapter... Thank you!**

** I have too much spare time- Haha, I love suspense! It's fun finishing chapters at awkward points! Do you think I did the scene right? Thank you for reviewing!**

** That's all for today. I'll write when I can!**


	12. Sleeping

**I'm really sorry about yesterday, guys... I hope you weren't hoping too much...**

"Skye... Skye! Wake up! Skye!"

"Wassappunned?" she mumbled.

"Ward's having a panic attack. We need you to go in there."

"Why don't they just sedate him or something," she groaned, "Let me sleep."

"Skye!" Simmons lightly slapped her cheek.

"Ow!" she complained loudly.

"Skye! Get up!"

Skye heaved herself out of bed, relieved to find that she had slept in her clothes. She sighed, before moving at a slow jog towards the cell. Stupid Ward! Having a panic attack while she was asleep... she hadn't even had any coffee. She grumbled quietly to herself. That door was so _heavy _as well...

Skye heaved it open. Ward was hyperventilating, shrank backwards into the wall, hysterical.

"Hey," she said lightly, "What up?" He didn't move. "Hey," she said again. He didn't react, so she used her friend's method and slapped his face. He stopped suddenly, staring at her in surprise. "Shove off," she said to the empty room.

He looked a little shaky. "Thanks," he said.

"Well I'll be off now," she said, "If that's all."

"No," he said quietly, "Stay."

She turned around. "Sure," she said, groaning inwardly.

She sat down next to him. He watched as slowly her eyes closed and her head slipped down to rest on his shoulder. He smiled. He didn't push her away.

* * *

><p>"Oh... <em>oh.<em> Oh, I wasn't expecting... oh."

"Oh."

"Oh. Wow. Is that even... oh."

"Does protocol allow that?"

"Oh... no. There's a rule that clearly states that no agent may enter a romantic relationship with any prisoners... or other agents."

"Oh." Fitz looked at her and Simmons felt a shiver run down her spine. This shouldn't be happening, she thought.

"Should we wake her? I mean, it might look like he's drugged her, and she might get into trouble, or..."

"She'll be fine." They looked at the screen and saw that both of them were now asleep. "He's peaceful. That's good."

"Yeah, I suppose. We'll give them a little while. She's exhausted. It's been a mad few days, and with the whole gunshot wound..."

"Did you ever get the results from that?"

She shook her head slowly. "I ran the tests, but apart from an extraordinary amount of white blood cells and platelets, there was nothing to suggest that anything out-of-the-ordinary was going on in her blood."

"She is out-of-the-ordinary, though, isn't she?"

"I suppose so."

"I mean, who knew that a woman could _have _that much control over a man? A man over a woman, though, maybe so..."

"Maybe so," said Simmons quietly.

* * *

><p>She was cold and stiff and uncomfortable. She had a painful neck where she'd been leaning- wait. Was that Ward's shoulder? What? No. No, she had not just fallen asleep. She felt his head resting on top of hers. No. How did she get up?<p>

What if somebody had seen her? It was most definitely against protocol.

And she hated him.

What would this look like? What if someone thought they'd... oh no. Oh no. This was a bad situation. A very, very bad situation. And probably one that was about to get a whole lot worse. She winced, pulling herself away slowly so as not to wake him. His head fell to one side. Oops. Gently, she moved his head so it leaned against the wall. She didn't want to wake him. He hadn't slept that peacefully in a long time.

Slowly and stiffly, Skye left the cell, closing and locking the door with a soft _click. _She hurried down the white corridors - why were they all so white?- and ran smack bang into Simmons.

"Skye!" she cried, as Skye knocked her flying.

"Jemma!" Skye shouted as the force of the impact knocked her stumbling back. She went and helped her up. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," said Simmons, biting her lip.

Skye's eyes opened wide. "Did you... see?"

"What?" she lied. Badly.

Skye fell back against the wall and buried her face in her hands. "Who else?"

"Fitz. But we closed it off do only we could see, and in any case nobody was looking."

She nodded. Ok. That wasn't so bad. "Did he drug me? Knock me out?"

"No. You just fell asleep. Skye, you have to understand that you aren't ready for this. You should still be in a hospital bed. Maybe not even alive. You need a lot more rest than usual, and all the emotional trauma is wearing you out. It wasn't your fault. You were strong to stay awake that long."

Skye nodded mutely. She walked into her assigned room and lay on her bed, but she didn't sleep. Not for a long time.

* * *

><p>When Ward woke up, he was cold and alone. Very alone. Skye was gone. She had left. He knew, of course, that it was against protocol to do that. He knew that she hated him. He knew that they could never be together. But he had felt so... warm. Like he was supporting her, helping her. Like they were together.<p>

And they could never be.

Never.

And that would probably be what killed him.

* * *

><p>Skye fell asleep eventually, and he pulled the covers over her. Fitz was tired himself, come to think of it. Simmons had even fallen asleep on her chair and he'd ended carrying her back to her bed bridal-style. Bridal... no. No! What?! Why was he thinking about that?!<p>

In fact, he really _was _tired. Really tired. Unusually tired. So tired...

Fitz slipped down to the floor. Whoops. He must have tripped. That was embarra-

* * *

><p>Skye woke up with a start. Somebody had pulled her covers over her. That was sweet, but embarrassing. Who, she wondered. She sat up. Someone was lying on the floor. Huh. Wait!<p>

Someone was lying on the floor.

Skye sat up. She got out of bed and the dark blond curls that she saw told her what she needed know: Fitz. "Simmons!" she yelled. Nobody answered. "Simmons? Someone get down here!"

Nothing. She heaved Fitz onto the bed, and ran out into the corridor. A doctor, lying on the floor. She ran into Simmons' room. She was lying on the bed, covers up to her chin. Her face was pale. Skye touched her cheek. It was cold. Not death cold, but cold. Skye ran on. Everywhere, everyone. Cold and pale. Steady heartbeats, it seemed. They were alive.

What was happening? Why wasn't she affected? Who had done this? Where could she go? How had this happened? When had they started sleeping? She had been tired, but this... this was different. This was bad. Was there anyone...?

Coulson.

He was at a meeting. Not here. Not affected. Skye picked up a telephone with trembling hands and dialled his emergency number. One that was strictly forbidden. One that nobody but Director Fury knew about. And seeing as Fury had left... Skye took over. Hacked in. Found the number. And here she was, using this.

"Hello? Fury? Is that you?"

"Coulson! We have an emergency. A really big emergency."

"What the- Skye? What are you doing? This is a-"

"There's no time. Everyone's asleep, Coulson, they're all cold and pale and asleep except me. What do I do?! You have to get over here! Now!"

"Skye, I'm on my way. I need to alert the others and then May will get me over here."

"I don't know... I don't know if it's in the air or the water or what, but it's a disease and it's spreading like wildfire. Wh- what do I do?"

"Ward. Check he's secure. He's likely to have done this. Take him out if necessary."

Skye looked up. She had forgotten. Her eyes filled with hatred.

Ward.

** Oh no! What's going to happen? You'll have to wait and see, possibly until Saturday I'm afraid. Sorry about the length again, and the cliffhanger, but there you go!**

** First, with reviews,**

** Guest- I got your review yesterday, but it said you posted it the day that chap. 10 was posted. I'm not sure what happened there! Thanks for reviewing, though! I'm glad you enjoyed this!**

** And for the last chapter: **

** annavale23- Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you were looking forward to this and I hope it's up to scratch!**

** I have too much spare time- Aww, thank you! I don't actually think it is the most perfect story around, but thanks anyway! I'm glad you enjoyed!**

** websky- Yes, I tried to make it quite emotional! I don't know if I pulled it off, though... Thank you!**

** babycraycray- I'll try as hard as possible to update soon, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Haha, you'll have to see about the hallucinations!**

** And that's all! Remember to leave a small review for me as we near the end of the story!**


	13. Arising

**Whoo! I'm back! New chapter, read, enjoy and review!**

Ward huddled up to the wall. It had got quite cold in his cell, like someone had stopped heating it... he looked up as Skye burst in, anger and terror written all over her face.

"What did you do?" she yelled, trying to hold it together.

"What? Skye, I didn't do anything, I sw-"

She came forwards, her hand at his throat, and slammed him into the wall. "Tell me what you did to them! Tell me! What did you do?"

"Nothing," he gasped, "I swear, Skye, I would never hurt you, not after... not ever again."

She hit him hard across the face. "Stop _lying _to me! You're always lying, all the time! Just stop!"

"Skye, I haven't done anything. Listen to me," he choked, his face turning red, "I haven't done anything! What the heck is going on?"

"You're saying you didn't do anything? Nothing at all? That FitzSimmons, the doctors, everyone just fell asleep? Everyone but you and the girl you failed to kill? You're telling me that? Well you know what, I don't believe you! Just- just tell me what you did, I can fix this..."

"I haven't done anything! Skye, listen! Look me in the eye! I haven't done anything!"

He pushed her away, his hand spread across her stomach. It was only gentle; he didn't want to hurt her, just get her off, but she doubled over, gasping. _Her stomach._ He gasped in air, running over to support her. She looked up at him in fear and hatred, before closing her eyes and falling into his arms.

Ward lay her down on the floor. Checking her over, he could see that not much was wrong but that she was in a lot of pain. She would wake up in a minute or two. He examined the wound. It hadn't reopened, but her breathing was shallow and quick and laboured.

He went outside, glanced around. He needed to know what was going on. He saw a doctor, lying face down on the floor. He turned him over. His face was pale. Ward checked his pulse. A little weak, but there. His skin was cold.

Ward felt a sudden blow to the back of his head.

He fell down.

* * *

><p>Skye let out a slow breath. The prisoner was secure, but she wasn't. There was a burning pain running through her back and stomach. She dragged him back into the cell, turned on the barrier and locked the door. He was safe. She made her way back to her room. Fitz hadn't moved. If anything, he was even stiller.<p>

She moved into the next room. Simmons, still the same. She was worse. Skye guessed that she'd been out longer. Her pulse was fairly weak. Skye pulled the covers right up to her chin. She was cold. She paused. Had she heard something? Yes, there it was again.

"Skye? Skye, are you there?"

"Coulson?"

He rounded the corner, and she fell sobbing into him. "Wow, Skye, Skye, calm down. Calm down. It's going to be ok."

"All of them," she cried, "I don't know what to do."

"Show me," he said.

She led him into the room. "There."

He walked over to the bed and touched Simmons' cheek. May came in too and began to examine her. "Cold," she said, "Her pulse has weakened."

"What should we do?" Skye asked shakily.

"What can we do? We find the source."

* * *

><p>"Guys, you have to see this!" Skye yelled. She was in some sort of lab. This, she presumed, was where they created the sedatives. Machines were bleeping and it seemed that they pumped air through the ventilation shafts. Useful. Too useful? Is this how Ward did it? How did he even manage it? Maybe he had a contact...?<p>

"Skye?" Coulson poked his head around the door. "Oh... this could be it. Well done. May!"

May came in. "Get looking," she said, "Packaging, records, anything. We need to see what Ward did."

"Are we sure that it was Ward?" Coulson asked.

"Well who else would it be?"

"I guess...something just isn't right about this. It's wrong. Everything."

"I hate it too. We should start searching."

"Yeah, I gue-"

"Here. Look."

May held up a page of notes. _Pumped through the cell's shaft (gradually) bit by bit, target will become slowly immune to final attack. Once attack has been launched, evacuate premises immediately and wait for extraction team. Team will take information, target and any useful hostages e.g. doctors etc._

"Ward wasn't to blame. He was the target," said Coulson.

"How can you be so sure?" asked May.

"There's only one cell here. We know who lives in it."

"Oh no," Skye whispered, "Coulson, what have I done?"

And she was gone from the room, as quickly as that.

"It makes sense," May stated calmly, "Ward wasn't asleep because he was the target. Skye was immune because she spent so much time there. That's why she was so tired. But what was the information?"

"I'm guessing the same information that Ward wanted from Skye, before he shot her."

"Good point. But if Ward can't give them the information, they'll take Skye. And probably a fair amount of doctors, maybe even FitzSimmons."

"We can't worry about that now. We need to find an antidote. They're dying. It should be here somewhere. Simmons would be able to find it."

"Just keep looking."

* * *

><p>"Ward. <em>Ward<em>. Hey."

He cracked his eyes open groggily. "Ouch," he said, fingering the lump on the back of his head.

"Hey," she said softly, "I know it wasn't your fault."

"That didn't take long," he said sarcastically.

"But," she continued, ignoring him, "Whoever did this wants you."

"HYDRA," he groaned, before sitting bolt upright. "Skye, you have to get out of here. HYDRA want the information that you didn't give me and if they can't get it from me, they'll take you instead. And torture it out of you. And in your condition..."

"They mentioned taking any useful hostages. Doctors, scientists. They'd probably capture me anyway."

"No, Skye - you're awake. You can run, and May and Coulson."

"What, and leave my two best friends here for HYDRA? Yeah, no thanks."

"Skye, listen! HYDRA will stop at nothing to get that information. They will kill FitzSimmons, and Coulson, and probably May. You need to get out now, before HY-"

"SKYE! WE'VE FOUND SOMETHING!"

"I'm going to lock you in," she said calmly.

Then she left.

Not such a golden girl any more, huh? Garret laughed.

"Shut up," he said.

* * *

><p>"What've you got?"<p>

"We found a load of equations. This one, XZ7-13 looks like it was used to make everyone fall asleep. It says here that this one," he held up a container, "429-EB6, could reverse the effects. But we're no good at this. We have no idea if it will work."

"We could sample it," Skye suggested, "Just one of us."

"That's a stupid idea," May snapped, "We could end up with one more sleeping body. Look for proof that it works."

"No," Coulson said. "No. It might work. Put masks on."

"Immunity, remember?"

"Good point." He tossed May one, and gave her a warning glance. Glaring at him, she reluctantly pulled it over her head. "Make sure I'm actually asleep first, ok? Try and wake me a few times."

He opened the first container, and dropped it on the floor, coughing. "Close it!" Skye shouted. May did. "Coulson," she said, "Get up."

He didn't stir.

"Coulson!"

Nothing. "Ok, open the other one."

Odourless steam poured out and Coulson's eyes fluttered open. "We did that," he smiled, "Now we need to find enough to pump through the ventilation system. Try in there."

* * *

><p>Fitz was contented. He was in a warm bed, after having a wonderful sleep. He didn't even remember going to bed. In fact, all he remembered was tripping over. How embarrassing.<p>

_Tripping over..._

He sat up. This wasn't his room. Wait- it was Skye's. Why was he in Skye's bed? Where was Skye. He heard footsteps. Coulson peered around the door.

"Oh, you're awake," he said brightly.

"Care to tell me what on Earth is going on?"

"The hospital was...attacked. With a powerful sedative poison thing," he explained cheerfully, as though nothing had happened. His face darkened. "One or two...didn't quite make it through. They've been hooked up to life support, but they're in critical condition. We can't do much."

"Simmons was one of the first to fall asleep," Fitz said slowly. "Please tell me she isn't one of them."

Coulson shook his head. "She's still out, but she's alright, we think."

He stood up, but his legs gave way and he sat back down. "What the-? Can I see her?"

"Sure, but you'll have to wait a couple of minutes. Weakness of the limbs is an unfortunate side effect."

"Did Ward do this?"

"We don't know much, but it would be helpful if you and Jemma could come down later, have a look around."

"Why am I in Skye's bed?"

"You collapsed in here. She put you up there to make you more comfortable."

Fitz nodded and began to stand up again. He wobbled, but kept his balance. He then made his way next door. She lay on the bed, still and with little colour in her cheeks. He moved over and sat on the side of her bed. The sudden movement made her stir, but not wake.

He gently stroked her cheek.

* * *

><p>"Fitz?"<p>

"You're awake!"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all."

"Fitz, why are you sat on my bed?"

"Oh!" he went pink. "The hospital was attacked with some sort of poisony sedativey thingy. I needed to check to see if you were ok."

She let out a low whistle. "I feel...strange."

"Weak?"

"Yeah. Cold."

"Side effects. I was the same. Don't try to stand just yet."

She nodded. "Sounds like XZ7-13. I wonder how they found it. It's supposed to be quite rare."

Skye burst in. "You're awake," she grinned, "I was getting worried. You have no idea how much has happene-"

There was a loud boom, followed by a lot of shouting. Skye's smile slid off her face as quickly as it had come on and was replaced with a look of terror.

"What's going on?" Fitz asked.

"Ward was right," she whispered, "HYDRA are here."

** Uh-oh! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I totally ran out of time. An update tomorrow is very likely as it is the weekend, but right now I'm not really in a position to promise anything. Last chapter is up next (but don't worry, there will be an epilogue)!**

** Reviews!**

** AOSshipper- That is my personal favourite review so far! I have never heard that expression before, but I did enjoy it! You have your answer! Thanks for reviewing!**

** websky- I'm so glad you enjoyed, hopefully you'll like the next chapter and then the epilogue! Thank you so much for reviewing!**

** annavale23- There's your answer! Do you think I did the chapter ok? I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, I thought I would have the time but evidently not... Thank you!**

** babycraycray- I'm glad you liked it! Do you think this chapter went ok, or did I rush it? Thank you for reviewing again, it means a lot to me!**

** That's it for now. Why don't you leave a little review as we near the end of the story? That would be great!**

** Thanks!**


	14. Hi(dra)ing

**Hooray! Here we go on the last chapter! Leave a little review for me!**

It was a long shot, but it might work. They had to wait until the last moment, and the room was so full that one could barely move. Masks had been handed out to everyone and FitzSimmons were in the centre of it all, ordering people about and talking such gibberish that only the doctors and scientists listening seemed to understand.

"It might take some time to take effect," Simmons was saying, "So we will all have to stay in here for a while. We should start pumping now."

A couple of men started frantically pressing buttons.

"We know that HYDRA want informatio-"

Skye swore very loudly.

"What is it now, Skye?" Fitz asked patiently.

"Ward. He's still in the cell. He doesn't have anything. HYDRA will _butcher _him. I have to go!"

"Skye! No!" Coulson shouted after her, but she had gone through the doors.

He ran forward, but a scientist held him back. "No time," he spat. "We need to lock the doors."

"We can't lock her out!" Simmons cried in distress.

"What other choice do we have? We can't afford to lose more."

The scientist locked the door. "Agent Grainger. I don't think we've met."

"No, we haven't. And, Agent Grainger, we cannot just abandon one of our team members."

"And what Agent Skye did was brave, but we have no choice but to sacrifice her."

"No!" Fitz shouted. He tried to open the door, but Grainger had set it so that it responded only to his thumbprint.

"I am sorry for your loss," he said.

* * *

><p>Skye frantically ran through the winding corridors. She was stupid. She didn't even had a gun. A tranquilliser. A weapon. She picked up a tray that was by the side. It would do as a sort of shield, but she doubted that it would do much good against HYDRA's bullets. She just had to get to the cell. Then she could lock herself and Ward in, turn on the barrier, and they would be safe. Safe. Of course.<p>

She just had to get to him before HYDRA.

Which would be easier said than done. Skye was glad to be immune. It gave her a little more time. A little extra time. A few more corridors. She sped up. She heard voices.

HYDRA.

She turned into the nearest room. It was a storage closet, but she hid in their gladly and held her breath as they thundered past. Someone had performed the attack from the inside. Someone had leaked their location. And that someone would have told them where Ward was.

Skye began to run after them. They had gone past the cell and into the next room. Obviously they had gone wrong. She tried the door.

It was locked.

Skye hadn't locked it. They were coming out. She scanned her thumb and, excruciatingly slowly, it opened. She pulled herself in and slammed it shut. They banged on the door. She locked it with fumbling fingers.

"They'll kick it down," Ward said.

"Thank goodness you're safe."

The door rattled.

"Lock us in. Turn on the barrier."

"I'm trying!"

She turned on the barrier and fell into his arms. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Saving you," she said. "Everybody else is safe in the lab. They're coming. They want the information. They want hostages. We're safe in here."

"Skye, don't you understand? There is a mole in here. Someone with clearance, trust. He can take the barrier down, no problem."

"What makes you so sure it's a he?"

"Because I know who it is."

"What? You _knew?_ You knew all this time? And you didn't think that I might just have liked to know that my life and the lives of all my friends were in danger? You though-"

"Skye, he swore to kill you if I spoke."

"Who?"

"Agent Grainger."

"He was in the lab," she said, panicked. "I left them in there with him."

* * *

><p>"Agent Grainger, do you know who I am? I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."<p>

"Which, Director Coulson, is why I cannot allow you to leave."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's too dangerous out there."

"Agent Grainger, if you do not open this door right now, I am going to have to ask my agents to open it by force."

Nobody was prepared for what happened next. Grainger picked up a scalpel and began examining it. He then grabbed Simmons and pulled her towards him. She let out a short cry of surprise before he put the knife the her neck. Fitz shouted her name.

"I suggest you think carefully about what you're doing. What good will come of killing this woman?"

"A lot. You'd be one agent down and will have lost a great mind. And probably him," Grainger said, pointing towards Fitz.

"Why him?" Coulson asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious? The boy's in love," he drawled. "Now do as I say, because believe me, I am not afraid to cut this woman's throat."

* * *

><p>Simmons kept her breathing calm and steady. She detested the feel of his arm around her throat, but she did not speak or shudder or move or do anything that might provoke him. Of course, without meaning to, Coulson was making Grainger angry and his grip was tightening, so that she could not properly inhale. But she kept calm and stiff.<p>

The scalpel was cool against her throat and the room was sent into shocked silence as they realised that this man was not, in fact, on their side. A nurse opened her mouth and he inserted a little pressure on the knife. Simmons felt it pierce her skin. She drew in a sharp breath without thinking. He laughed at her. She was scared.

As she weighed the opportunities, Simmons realised that it was unlikely that this man would kill her. HYDRA was looking for information and hostages. She had information. She would make a decent hostage. And in that instant she realised that this man would not kill her; she was too valuable. She tried to signal to Fitz. People had often joked that they must have some sort of telepathic connection, and she wished they did.

He must have taken her look for one of desperacy, for he came towards her angrily, but a sensible nurse pulled him back. She silently thanked her.

"Turn off the poison," Grainger ordered. A couple of people hesitated. "Do it."

He slapped the back of his hand across her face, hard. Simmons tasted blood and for a few seconds her head spun until she blinked herself back to reality. Fitz shouted something indecipherable. She saw them at the machines and wished that it was safe for her to tell them not to.

But then she realised something, and the breath caught in her throat, for five minutes were up and the gas would be running freely around the building. They could turn it off, but it was done.

This time, S.H.I.E.L.D. had won.

* * *

><p>"Skye, there's nothing we can do. But I have a plan, ok?"<p>

She nodded. "Ok."

"Lie on the floor. I'll pretend to have killed you."

_"What?" _

"Just trust me, ok? They won't hurt you if you're dead. As soon as I have the upper hand, I'll jump them and we run."

"That's pathetic."

"Maybe. Do you have a better idea?"

"Fine," she sighed, "But it needs to be believeable."

"What do you mea-"

She picked up the tray she had been carrying and slammed it into her own face. It had the desired effect and blood began to pour from her nose.

"Put some on my forehead," she said thickly.

"What did you just do?"

"Just do it!"

Reluctantly, he fashioned the blood so that it seemed as though he had hit her head multiple times. She lay on the floor in a position that she hoped was dead. He stood above her, and the HYDRA soldiers came in to see an angry man standing over the corpse of the girl that he had killed.

* * *

><p>"Come on," said Skye, wiping her face on her sleeve. "We have to help the others."<p>

"Here," Ward said, handing her a gun. It was only a night-night gun, but it was a weapon all the same. She noticed that he had kept the real one himself, as though he didn't want her to have to kill just yet.

"Thanks," she said, "They're in here."

It had turned out that they had not needed to jump them after all. Ward had explained that he had killed Skye, and soon after that they had all slid to the floor in a similar sleep to the ones that had affected the entire facility earlier that day.

Ward tried the door. It was locked. He rattled it, trying to get the attention of someone on the inside, before he remembered that they would think he was HYDRA.

"Stand back," he said, "I'm going to shoot the lock."

Obediently, she stepped backwards, and he fired a shot at the mechanical lock. The impact did its job, and the door swung open to reveal about fifty terrified faces and Agent Grainger holding a knife to Simmons' throat.

* * *

><p>There was a gunshot, and Grainger fell unconscious, dragging her down with him. Fitz ran forward to help her up and Coulson looked up at their saviour. It was Skye, holding a night-night pistol.<p>

"Honestly," she said, "You guys wouldn't last five minutes without me."

Coulson came forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, before stepping back and inquiring why she was covered in blood.

"It's a long story," said Ward.

Simmons gasped in air as Fitz hugged her. She hadn't realised how much her supply had been cut off. She hugged him back and, as they pulled away, embarrassed, she very gently kissed him on the cheek.

He blushed crimson. Had she really just done that? He tried to ignore the burst of electricity that had run through him. Perhaps she'd given him a static shock? He touched his cheek, bemused. Simmons beamed at him and he beamed back. Skye laughed.

"Don't remove your masks," Coulson ordered, loudly so that everyone could hear him. "We need to collect them and get them to somewhere secure."

* * *

><p>They were on the bus again. It was funny how, after everything they'd been through, it finished in the same way it had started.<p>

A team of six, on the bus.

But Ward was leaving. Mad maybe, but undeniably he had committed so many crimes against his country that not even Coulson, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was able to keep him out of prison. He was to go to a secure facility that dealt with cases such as his: people who felt they had duties and people who hallucinated so much that reality was warped.

He wouldn't mind, if it wasn't for Skye.

Skye, who he'd tried to kill. Skye, who he loved and who loved him back, but could never admit it to herself because she could not forgive him for all that he'd done. Skye who had vouched for him, but been unable to clear her eyes of that quiet hatred he had grown accustomed to. Skye who looked at him with tears in her eyes, who told him that she would try and write the people away.

He knew it wouldn't work.

He knew they'd come back.

But he didn't mind so much any more, because he, Grant Douglas Ward, had made something right.

They handcuffed him. He didn't mind, really, because he was so numb that he could barely feel them.

He faced Coulson first. "Thank you," he said.

He moved to May. "I wish it could be different," he said.

"So do I," she replied coldly.

FitzSimmons. "I'm sorry," he said, but he didn't wait for a reply.

He went to Skye. "Skye," he said.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes, "I'm sorry and I'm a terrible person, but I can't love you...and I can't...forgive you."

He nodded. "I know," he said, "But do me a favour. Remember me."

And she could only watch as they led him away.

** I'm sorry, people, I really am! But fear not, all will be made right in the epilogue to follow, so please don't hate me... :(**

** It made me sad writing that, but it will be fine because I have the epilogue all planned out and I know what will happen.**

** Review time!**

** babycraycray- Haha, was that FitzSimmons ok for you? I didn't want to do a full on kiss, because I don't think that FitzSimmons would actually do that, but I did want something to happen between them! Yes, Ward still sees Garret! Thank you!**

** annavale23- Oh dear, hope I didn't disappoint you! This chapter really made me sad... The epilogue should be a bit better, though (at least I hope so). I am a bit upset about ending the fic, I got quite attached to it... I'm thinking about doing a FitzSimmons based fic next!**

** I have too much spare time- Erm, thanks, I guess... Is it a good thing :P? I hope you don't hate me too much now... I'm a bit worried about this chapter's response... Thank you!**

** So... Please don't leave a hate comment :s and I'll try to update soon!**


	15. Epilogue: Two letters

**Aww, so here we go...to be honest I'm really sad about ending this fic, and I've grown quite attached. Please enjoy!**

_Dear Skye,_

_ I'm not sure I believe them when they say they'll post this, but it's worth a try. I mean, how do they know where you are? How do they know when you'll be arriving at a certain address? And they'll probably read it. After all, I am a deranged lunatic._

_ I still see them. All the time. But I'm used to them now. Sometimes I see you, Skye, and that sounds creepy but it's the truth. I feel free. Before, it was like I was bound to them and I had to do what they said - and please, believe me when I say that what I did to you was out of my control - but now, it is different. I'm free truly now, even in prison. _

_ There's a man who comes and talks to me. A doctor, apparently. Well, he doesn't call himself that, but a true doctor wouldn't. Particularly not to somebody like me. He says that one day they'll let me out. He says that whatever terrible things I've done, they weren't my fault._

_ I don't believe him, of course. I mean, why should I?_

_ Maybe I was possessed. Maybe I was too far gone to care, but Skye, what I did, everything I did, was wrong and my fault and I'll never forgive myself. Are you better now? They don't tell me anything here. They say the information isn't mine to know. And maybe it isn't. But it would be nice to have somebody trust me._

_ I'd love to see your face again. I know that you hate me and that you will never forgive me and I accept that, but...as this letter is going to be destroyed, there probably isn't much need for me to keep whatever feelings to myself._

_ Can I trust you, Skye? The people, they come to me every day, and sometimes they help me, and sometimes they look at me with such horror and loathing that sometimes I wake up screaming. I don't know what's happening to me now, and that's tearing me apart. The others who are just as mad as me avoid me like I'm the Plague (whatever that is) and I think they're scared of me. Almost as scared as I am of them._

_ One day, maybe I'll be dead and you'll read this. Maybe I will post it to you myself. If I was allowed, and stuff._

_ Is Coulson ok? And FitzSimmons and May? Tell them thank you for helping me. Tell them I miss them. Tell them I'm sorry, but save the biggest apology for yourself, Skye. Because I am more sorry than you will ever understand. _

_ And Skye... I love you. And I thank you for that._

_ Sincerely,_

_Grant Douglas Ward._

* * *

><p><em>Ward-<em>

_ I forgive you._

_ -Skye_

** I'm sorry! I don't want to have to end it so badly, but I've had that idea floating around for a while and I'd like to get it down.**

** I've really enjoyed writing this, and I'd like to thank everybody who followed, reviewed and and favourited this fic, particularly annavale23, who as far as I know has reviewed every single time I've posted.**

** Reviews!**

** babycraycray- I'm kind of sad too... For the FitzSimmons fic, I was thinking of doing a kind of AU thingy where Simmons replaces Skye. I'll see, anyway! I hope you weren't disappointed by the ending!**

** I have too much spare time- Ah, it's a good thing! Great! Did you like that? It was short and snappy, I know, but I'd like to see the reaction. Thank you for taking the time to read this, it means the world to me that people are actually interested in my writing!**

** rebeccaskyeward12- I know, right? There's something really satisfying about creating OCs you really hate... I felt really mean when he grabbed Simmons like that! Thank you for reviewing!**

** annavale23- Thank you! I hope that you liked this, and I'd love to thank you in person, but seeing as I can't, I'll give you a metaphorical hug. I hope you weren't annoyed by the epilogue... Thank you so much for reviewing, I still can't quite believe that I reached 40 reviews!**

** Agentmusicart-Yes, I felt kind of weepy writing it... However, I don't really think that Skye and Ward would run away together, considering that he shot her and all... For some weird reason DocManager wouldn't let me save your name, so I've done it like that, I'm not sure why... Thank you for reviewing!**

** websky- I can't quite believe I'm finishing it now! It seems like such a long time ago that I started this, but it's actually only just over two weeks! Thank you, you're a very loyal reviewer and I've really enjoyed hearing from you.**

** AOSshipper- There you go! Please try not die! Was that all right? I think it was probably a bit short... Thank you for reviewing, I'm so glad you enjoyed this!**

** That's my review record, let's try and break it for the final instalment! I'll reply to any reviews by pm for this, so don't feel like you shouldn't!**

** I've lived writing this, and I'm thrilled that people actually enjoyed it.**

** Thank you!**

** LadyMorganaPendragon**


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